Report Card: 2025 Natsu Basho - Part 5

Finishing our grades for the top division rikishi who were involved in the May tournament.

Ok, time to put Sumo Stomp!’s coverage of the May tournament to bed, by reviewing and grading the performances of our highest ranked wrestlers.

I’ll be honest, folks, I’m not in the best space right now. I’m writing from my parents’ house. My father is in frail health and has declined quite rapidly over the last month (not beyond the point of no return, though, possibly… hopefully). Without going into too much detail, he’s on a cocktail of meds for his heart and they are interfering with his ability to heal from complications related to his condition as an amputee. The meds are affecting his mind and body in ways we’ve never seen and it’s just… yeah. It’s tough out here.

But I have a responsibility to myself to produce work here that I like and I’m proud of. And, frankly, right now writing about Ōnosato and Hōshōryū will be a nice escape from everything else I’m dealing with.

So let’s get to it.

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Wakatakakage

Rank: Komusubi 1 West
Record: 12-3, jun-yushō, ginō-shō
Grade: A

Wakatakakage had a great May tournament and this record has secured a massive moral victory for him. Thanks to this record, Wakatakakage has been promoted to sekiwake for the Nagoya basho. The last time he was ranked that high was in March, 2023. That’s the tournament where he blew out his ACL and MCL in a bout with Kotozakura (which he won, by the way). That injury put him on the sidelines for three tournaments, which meant he was demoted down to makushita (third division). He returned to action in November 2023 and has now successfully clawed his way back up to his former highest rank.

By completing this path Wakatakakage proved he possesses an incredible amount of will, grit and talent. Wakatakakage’s accomplishment is bittersweet, though. His form since returning to the top division is pretty strong evidence that, if not for that injury, he would have likely progressed beyond his sekiwake rank by now, to ozeki and possibly even higher.

Better late than never, though. Wakatakakage is still only 30 and in May he showed that he’s, easily, one of the top five rikishi on the planet. In May I think he was the best wrestler competing not named Ōnosato or Hōshōryū.

This 12-3 jun-yushō equals what he did during last year’s Nagoya basho. He’s only had one hiccup in the top division, a 7-8 in January, since returning to where he belongs.

In May he met a fired up Hōshōryū on Day 1. Hōshōryū, who was fighting with a lot of urgency after his disappointing rookie yokozuna tournament, got through him quickly. But Wakatakakage would regrouped and go on a seven bout winning streak, which included amazing performances against Kotozakura, Kirishima and Daieishō.

Abi got one of his trademark sneaky wins on over him on Day 9, but the only other person to beat Wakatakakage was Ōnosato. Boy, did he make Ōnosato work for it, though. Ōnosato breezed through this tournament, but Wakatakakage forced him to improvise and fight outside of his comfort zone.

Wakatakakage’s sumō in May was aggressive, energetic and very technical. He used active hands to harry opponents and make sure they couldn’t get their favourite grips on him. When occupying his opponents with this hand fighting he used his quick feet to close distance and get chest-to-chest and then used his tremendous brute strength to force them out. Wakatakakage’s sturdiness was on full display, too, as he stood up to Daieishō’s thrusts and resisted a hard slap down from the taller Ōhō.

He was the total package in May. And I think he’s a serious threat to decide where the yushō goes in July.

Takayasu

Rank: Komusubi 1 East
Record: 6-9
Grade: D

Takayasu was elevated to komusubi after he finished runner-up (again) in March. In March he was controlled and composed and showed great killer instinct. In May, the control wasn’t there for much of the basho and he let himself get into long thrusting matches without seizing on killer opportunities to end the bout. That’s the reason for this disappointing 6-9 record.

Takayasu was very aggressive in this tournament (he cracked Wakatakakage with a forearm off the tachiai) and utilized a lot of movement, more than we’re used to seeing in this phase of his career. This rapid fire assault didn’t work out that well for him. He looked very effective when he went for the belt after softening opponents up with those thrusts (like when he threw Takerufuji and Ōhō), but those incidents were few and far between.

He seemed to be consciously trying to get wins with just thrusts. When he does that he robs himself of one of his greatest strengths; his versatility.

Grappling is harder on the body than thrusting, so the oft-injured Takayasu may have been in preservation mode in May. If that was a conscious choice, he’s lucky to have not been punished much for it. Despite the losing record he’ll remain at komusubi in Nagoya.

Kirishima

Rank: Sekiwake 1 West
Record: 11-4, ginō-shō
Grade: B+

Kirishima got his third kachi-koshi in a row in May. He’s only had one make-koshi (a 6-9) since he lost his ōzeki ranking in May of 2024. This was perhaps the best he’s looked since 2023.

In May he did a great job of having the yotsu (belt grabbing) battle when he wanted it. Wakatakakage and Ōnosato also excelled at this. For Kirishima, like Wakatakakage, he used high level defense to make sure his opponent didn’t get to dictate when and how the clinch would take place. Kirishima’s defense was mostly in the form of fast hands battling away thrusts and grab attempts and lateral movement to slide his hips/belt out of reach.

When Kirishima decided he wanted to engage, he did a great job of getting his hidari-yotsu (left arm inside, right arm outside). And he didn’t land half-assed hidari-yotsu, either. He was often able to land this grip and get each hand firmly on the belt. When he has two hands on the belt, he rarely fails to complete the force out.

His losses were to Wakatakakage, Ōhō, Takayasu and Daieishō. Against Wakatakakage, he was foiled by someone fighting a very similar gameplan. Once he and Wakatakakage were locked up, the smaller Wakatakakage was able to outmuscle him around the boundary. In the other bouts Kirishima simply ran out of room when side-stepping away from big long thrusts.

Kirishima was able to notch wins over both Kotozakura and Hōshōryū in this tournament. He was never matched up with Ōnosato.

He used his crafty yotsu hand fighting to keep Kotozakura guessing in their match and then crowd him out over the straw.

Against Hōshōryū he was very aggressive. He decided he wanted the yotsu battle immediately with his old judo clubmate. He locked on his hidari-yotsu immediately off the tachiai. I think this surprised Hōshōryū. Hōshōryū tried to defend with a throw, but Kirishima’s grip (complete with two hands on the belt) was so commanding that Kirishima’s slight strength advantage was able to nullify Hōshōryū’s slight judo advantage.

Kirishima now goes into Nagoya with a strong start to an ozeki run and a lot of the positive vibes he had around him in 2023.

Daieishō

Rank: Sekiwake 1 West
Record: 10-5
Grade: B-

Daieishō was good, not great, in May. And that’s pretty common for him at this stage of his career. He’s registered a few 10 and 11 win records over the past twelve months, but he’s never really been a championship hunt over that time.

In May he won the Thrusters Cup, beating all the other oshi-zumō practitioners he faced, other than Tamawashi. Those wins came against Takayasu, Gōnoyama, Ōhō and Abi.

Most of Daieishō’s wins come when he is moving forwards, blasting thrusts to the chest. However, he managed to notch a few wins moving backwards in May. He was able to pull/slap down Gōnoyama and Abi and sling out Wakamotoharu.

His losses were pretty respectable. Hiradoumi caught him with a cheeky henka. Wakatakakage and Hōshōryū had superb tournaments and were able to withstand Daieishō’s thrusts and then get inside positions on him for a force out. Ōnosato elected to thrust with Daieishō and looked a tad sloppy when finishing him with a last resort dive.

Tamawashi decided to fight one of his best fights of the tournament against Daieishō. He was able to brush Daieishō off to the side and then hound him out along the straw.

Daieishō is very much an old dog who can’t learn new tricks. Because of that he’ll continue to be a man who can beat up on those ranked below him, but struggles to beat those ranked above him (which will make it pretty hard for him to join them in those lofty ranks).

Kotozakura

Rank: Ozeki 1 West
Record: 8-7
Grade: C

Kotozakura has spent all of 2025 just trying to get by. After injuries ruined his January tournament and forced him to go 5-10, he’s now gone 8-7 in back-to-back tournaments. I think he’s fine with getting 8-7 if it means he doesn’t aggravate any injuries.

He secured his kachi-koshi on Day 12 with a win over Ichiyamamoto. After that he coasted and didn’t give his full effort against Ōnosato, Hōshōryū or Daieishō. I think that was wise. Digging your heels in against those powerhouses when not fully fit seems like a recipe for torn muscles.

Kotozakura had some moments in this tournament where he looked back to his best. But those moments came mostly against wrestlers who are smaller and don’t have the same kind of nuanced grappling ability that he has (namely Hiradoumi, Aonishiki and Takerufuji).

For the most part, though, he looked like a wrestler fighting within himself. He was not pushing hard to win bouts, relying on his superior technique when he could. He simply didn’t have the strength for straight-up chest-to-chest battles (Wakatakakage and Gōnoyama got him out like that with no trouble).

Kotozakura also cast a little bit of a sad figure during the tournament, which is something I’ve seen a lot of this year. He doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself much out there. Every big win seems to be met with relief, not elation. I hope this is just a matter of him being bummed that he can’t perform to his full potential due to his weakened knee.

He’s still young, at 27, but I’d love to see him try to expand his lifespan in the sport by taking a tournament off. He’s earned the luxury of doing this by becoming an ōzeki. Unfortunately, it seems his dad/oyakata (stablemaster) wants him to fight his guts out even if he’s hurt and at risk of losing everything he’s worked so hard for.

Ōnosato

Rank: Ozeki 1 East
Record: 14-1, yushō
Grade: A+

This was the best version of Ōnosato we’ve ever seen. And I think it’s the version we’re going to see a whole lot of over the coming years. He took this tournament by the scruff of the neck on Day 1 and didn’t let go. He wrapped things up on Day 13 and then set his sights on a zen-yushō. However, Hōshōryū prevented him getting that shiny prize (he’ll get one soon enough, though). His second yushō in a row (and fourth overall) secured his promotion to become the 75th yokozuna. This promotion felt inevitable ever since Ōnosato crashed the makuuchi party last year. He’s looked phenomenal in most tournaments since then. But in May he looked especially dominant.